


The Bucket List

by Ignisxi



Category: Naruto
Genre: (consensual) underage sex comes later, AU where both Obito and Rin die on a mission, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Idk if there were vehicles in ninjaland before but there are now, Im adding tags as I go because otherwise it wouldnt make sense, Kakashi has a fatal illness au, Kakashis like a lil puppy, Kashi has lil red face marks (dunno if theyre called something, Kashi's a brat sometimes, M/M, Minato cares so much for Kakashiii, Minato gets really emotional a lot, Minato said F Konoha and went on two year vacation w/ Kashi, Minatoxkushina comes later, Rating May Change, Self-Indulgent, This is a big au, and I dont want to spoil everythingg, but think like inuzukas but his anbu mask pattern), mc death comes later, oh my this is gonna be so sad, that probably made no sense, this is maybe very ooc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23363428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ignisxi/pseuds/Ignisxi
Summary: Kakashi is diagnosed with an unknown illness; a fatal one. Minato can't do anything to save him, so he decides to just make Kakashi happy before he goes. For both Kakashi’s sake, and his own.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Namikaze Minato, Hatake Kakashi/Namikaze Minato, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina
Comments: 34
Kudos: 54





	1. Chapter 1

It has been three months since the day Obito and Rin died, and Minato has been avoiding Kakashi like he was the plague for those three months. (Of course, it wasn't easy. His student was rather creative with excuses, and could find a way to butt his way into just about anything involving his personal life.)

The reason he's been avoiding Kakashi should be obvious. Minato doesn't even know why Kakashi wants to see him. He couldn't save Obito _or_ Rin. He wasn't fast enough. The _Yellow Flash_ was not fast enough to save his two young students. After repeatedly telling them, their whole life, that whenever they were in danger, he'd be there in a flash.

So maybe it's guilt, that's preventing him from seeing his youngest student.

Kakashi…

He's probably worse off than Minato himself is. Kakashi is so young, and right when the boy was becoming _friends_ with them, everything went wrong. And Kakashi was usually one to blame himself.

Dammit.

Minato gets up and, instead of sulking around and guilt-tripping himself, decides to visit his only remaining student.

If Kakashi’s surprised at Minato’s sudden appearance at his house, he doesn't show it. Minato softly smiles at him, and Kakashi looks away. They're sitting on the couch together now, and Kakashi is writing in some kind of book. Or… paper?

“Kakashi… How are you?” His student gives him one of his looks. The one where he raises an eyebrow, looking very unimpressed. “I mean… You know what I mean.”

“I'm fine.” He says, plainly.

“If that weren't your response every time I asked that question, maybe I'd believe you.” He sees Kakashi glare at the floor.

“What made you start caring all of the sudden?” He asks, coldly. Minato feels shame overwhelm him. “What, did they tell _you_ I was going to die?” Kakashi asks, with a strange voice. He blinks. _What?_

“What are you talking about?” Minato asks, in a no-nonsense tone.

“My so-called _sickness_ or whatever. All of the medics were freaking out and overreacting about it.” Minato stared at him.

“Sickness?” Why didn't he hear anything about it?

“Ye-” Kakashi blinks, as if only realizing something just now. “They didn't tell you anything.” Minato numbly shakes his head, even though it wasn't a question.

“What kind of sickness?” Worry was now filled in Minato’s mind.

“I… wasn't really paying attention to them.” If said medics were _freaking out_ , like Kakashi had said, then it's way more serious than he's letting on. “It's not anything contagious, so you still don't have a reason to avoid me.” Minato winces. He should have expected Kakashi to react this way to his treatment.

“...I’m sorry, Kakashi. I didn't think you'd really want to see me. For any reason other than to rage at me, that is.”

Kakashi gives him one of his _Are You Stupid_ looks, and doesn't reply.

“Can you tell me what your illness is, exactly?”

“Something respiratory. They didn't have a name for it, I think.” Once he heard that, Minato instantly became suspicious. No name? The nurses he knew would put names to _everything_. He raises an eyebrow at Kakashi.

“Well go ask _them._ ” Kakashi huffs, turning away. Minato frowns, and considers it.

“I'll be back.” He says, before teleporting to the hospital.

He walks through the halls, and eventually finds a nurse. He catches her attention by wildly flailing his arms, and she approaches him, looking a bit disturbed.

“Um, excuse me, do you know anything about Hatake Kakashi’s illness?” He realizes that this may not have been the smartest way to go about things. She gives him a suspicious look, then she recognizes him as Kakashi’s sensei. Maybe.

“It's an unknown disease. We're trying to fight it any way we can. But… it's new. It isn't contagious, though, so he doesn't need to be isolated. Tsunade-sama will be coming to check him over soon, to determine if the illness really is as bad as we think.” _Unknown disease… Really bad as we think..._

“Ah. Alright.” He bows his head, thanks her, and teleports back.

Kakashi is still writing on the paper when he gets back.

“What is that?” He asks, squinting at it.

“It's… nothing.” Minato can clearly see Kakashi hesitating. He gives his student a look. “It's a list.”

“Of?” Minato prompts.

“A bucket list.”

Minato hums. He's heard of that phrase before. But he forgets the meaning... Kakashi must notice his confusion, because he quickly explains it for him.

“It's basically a list of goals, and things you want to do before you die. I'm obviously not doing any of these, but I just wanted to write them, to see what it'd feel like.” Kakashi says, calmly. Minato has no idea how.

“What do you mean?” He asks, eyebrows furrowed. Kakashi points at one of the things on his list.

“Fly in a plane to a tropical island? I'm a _shinobi_ , I obviously don't have time for that. But it's a nice thing to think about.” Kakashi says. Minato frowns.

“...When is Tsunade giving you your checkup?” He changes the topic. Kakashi gives him a discerning look.

“Tomorrow, I think.”

“Alright. I'll be coming with you. Bye, Kakashi.” Kakashi’s eyes widen but before he can reply, Minato is gone.

…

Minato was calmly eating his breakfast when there was a knock on his front door. Minato swallowed his pancakes, and walked to the door, slightly annoyed. Kakashi stood there, crossing his arms. His eyes narrowed, and Minato laughed nervously as he was examined from head to toe.

“Uh… Kakashi-kun…” He awkwardly greeted. Kakashi sighed. “Come on in.”

“You're lucky I decided to come early. It's in half an hour.” He said, coming inside.

“Right.” Minato went over to his plate of pancakes and, sadly, threw them away. “You can, um, hang out here.”

“Hn.”

Kakashi sat down on Minato’s couch, still crossing his arms, as Minato raced to his bedroom to find something other than pajamas to wear to the hospital.

He returns to Kakashi, wearing his usual shinobi outfit. He grins at Kakashi playfully.

“Maybe, Kashi-kun, if I ever become the hokage, I'll make pajamas into the official shinobi uniform.” He says, as they walk outside towards the hospital. Kakashi ignores him. “What do you think?”

“...”

“I think they're comfy. And easier to maneuver in than our uniform. And if they don't provide enough warmth or protection or whatever, a blanket and pillow can be carried. As armour, you know?”

“...”

“I'll bring my idea to the sandaime, maybe he'd appreciate it.”

“...Sensei. Nobody would wear pajamas on missions except for you.” Kakashi said, and Minato sweatdropped. But then he notices a small smile behind his student's mask, and he grins to himself. _Success._

It's not long before they reach the hospital. Kakashi walks in beside him, and they make their way to the front desk. He tells the lady that Kakashi has an appointment with Tsunade, and she tells them a random room number. They walk to the room, and Tsunade is there waiting.

“Oh, Blondie’s here too?” She asks, squinting at him. Minato still doesn't understand why she calls him that, because _she's blonde too._ Kakashi turns and gives him a look that says _You're the adult, say something._ Which is unfair because Kakashi always makes a point to say they're _equals_ and whatnot.

“Uh.. Yes.” He says. Kakashi’s eyebrow twitches. Tsunade raises her eyebrow.

“Alright. Let's start. What are your symptoms again?” She says, grabbing a small notepad and a pen. Kakashi looks nervous, and his gaze keeps flicking over to Minato.

“Don't you know them already?” Minato winces when he sees a vein pop in Tsunade’s forehead.

“I said _again_ , Brat!”

“Can't you just ask of the _fifteen nurses that had to test me?_ ” Minato cringes even harder, bracing himself.

“TELL ME YOUR SYMPTOMS!” She screams, slamming her hands down on the table in front of her, and Kakashi finally obeys, crossing his arms and looking a lot like a petulant child.

“Coughing.” He says. She waits for him to continue, but he doesn't.

“All of your symptoms.” The woman clarifies.

“Coughing… difficulty of breathing… shortness of breath, nausea, blacking out at random times, coughing up blood, and _more difficulty of breathing_.” Tsunade writes everything down on the small notepad. Minato gapes.

All of this had been going on and he had no idea? Minato once again felt shame well inside of him. He had been _neglecting_ his only living student, who's been silently suffering this whole time. Kakashi has been going on missions regularly with an illness that could get him killed.

“Is it constant?”

“No. It happens at random.”

“Okay. Well that's pretty much all I needed to hear from you. I'm going to run some tests now, be quiet.” Kakashi glares at her.

…

After all of the tests are completed, Kakashi grumpily… grumps… as Tsunade leaves to see the results. Minato glances at Kakashi. Who has been completely ignoring his existence ever since Tsunade had to test him for prostate cancer, and didn't think to let Minato leave.

(Minato _refuses_ to believe that that part was his fault. How was he supposed to know that the procedure for testing prostate cancer was sticking something up Kakashi’s butt?! It was so uncomfortable and awkward for the _both_ of them… When Tsunade told him to pull his pants and underwear down, Kakashi just… completely shut down. Like, his face turned bright red and he didn't say a word throughout the whole thing, but just… _squeaked._ )

And his eyes are still all teary from the flu test. Minato doesn't understand why that test was even taken because Kakashi said that he wasn't contagious, and the flu was very contagious. But he supposes that all precautions must be taken.

Minato was surprised that the red face paint (or whatever it is) around his eyes didn't wash away when tears fell. He thought it was makeup, or something like that, but the marks weren't disturbed at all.

Kakashi coughed lightly, once.

He was just about to say something to lighten the mood, when the door cracks open.

“Minato? I need to talk to you outside.” Tsunade’s voice hit a tone he had never heard from her before. A… worried tone. Minato instantly sat up, and walked out the door, not missing how Kakashi glanced up at him fearfully.

“Wh-what is it?” He quietly asks, closing the door shut behind him.

“This disease… It's completely unheard of. But… from the tests I've taken… it's deadly.” She says, in a serious voice. Minato feels sick. “I won't be able to develop a vaccine in time.” His eyes widen, and start to water.

“W-w-when…” He swallows a sob. “When do you think he'll…”

“Two years, at the most. He has time. But the disease will weaken him. He won't be able to continue doing missions. At any given time, his lungs could contract, and he won't make it back. Or he'll cough up so much blood he won't be able to move. It's too dangerous.” Minato feels like he could pass out.

It's then that he notices the loud coughing fit from the closed door in front of them. Tsunade pushes him aside, and runs in. Minato runs in as well, just in time to see Kakashi with his mask at his neck, coughing up a puddle of blood on the floor. Kakashi is trembling, holding onto the hospital bed with one hand. His knuckles are turning white with his grip.

He doesn't notice that she called for help until he's pushed out of the room by a group of medic-nin. Minato feels like he's going to pass out.

He walks away from the hospital room, and leaves the hospital to get some fresh air.

Minato walks home. He thinks about Kakashi’s bucket list, and their short conversation they had about it yesterday.

 _“I'm a_ shinobi _, I obviously don't have time for that. But it's a nice thing to think about.”_ Kakashi had sounded so sure of himself.

But now… Kakashi can't be a shinobi anymore. And he has time. Two years, in fact. Minato’s eyes well with tears, and he rubs them away as he changes his direction to the hokage’s office.

He has an idea he needs to explain to the old man. And it's not about changing the shinobi uniform into pajamas.

When he reaches the office, he loudly knocks on the door. The sandaime calls him in, and Minato practically dashes inside.

“Hokage-sama!” He says, and the old man must think he's crazy. His eyes are probably all red, and his cheeks are tear-stained. His voice breaks when he speaks. “It's about Kakashi-kun. I-I need a two year break.” He says, getting straight to the point, and the sandaime’s eyes widen. Minato knows that it's a huge thing to ask for, but the hokage’s always been rather fond of him, letting him get away with things others wouldn't.

“Two years?” Sarutobi asks, and when Minato nods, he sighs, reaching for his pipe.

“Kakashi has an illness, and he's going to die in about two years, and I want to- I want to do everything I can with him for those two years.” He says, quickly, as the sandaime smokes his pipe. When he's done, he looks into Minato’s eyes.

“Letting you off for two whole years? Minato, you know I want you as hokage _next year._ ”

“I'll be hokage when I get back!” He defends. “You can last another two years…” Minato says, and the sandaime rolls his eyes.

“What is this illness of Kakashi-kun’s?”

“I-it’s unknown, sir.” The sandaime hums.

“Two years, starting now.” He says, closing his eyes. Minato blinks, not quite understanding.

“...So I can, just… leave now? With him?”

“Well, yes, if he's fit for travel.” He says. Minato disappears, not even waiting to be dismissed because he knows the old man understands.

He reappears at the hospital. He runs to the lady at the desk and asks where his student is. (Because he was probably moved from his place from earlier.) She tells him, and he sprints off. He ignores the weird looks coming from everywhere, and opens the door immediately when he reaches it.

Kakashi is on the bed, with a ventilator attached to him, most likely to keep him breathing. He looks a lot better than before, which is what really matters. Minato quietly approaches him, and pulls a chair up to sit down, waiting for him to wake up.

…

When Kakashi does wake up, Minato taps his arm to get his attention. Kakashi looks over, and his eyes widen in curiosity. It's definitely not usual for him to be here when Kakashi wakes up from the hospital, which isn't usual in the first place, so he's probably a bit surprised. Then his eyes narrow, as though he's trying to see exactly why he's here. He looks disorientated, though, making Minato wonder what kind of drug they put him on.

Minato hums, then gives him a sly smile.

“Kashi-kun. I know you hate hospitals. It's no secret. You hate the smell, because your nose is sensitive, just like your hearing, and there's always a lot of noise in hospitals. In general, you're sensitive, and every few minutes a doctor will just come out of nowhere to prod you with needles, and poke you. And you don't like it.”

Kakashi is still narrowing his eyes, and he looks way more confused than before. He's clearly puzzled as to where he's going with the conversation. And honestly, Minato is as well. He may have gone a little bit off topic... He clears his throat.

“So you'd want to leave, right? I guess that's what I'm asking.” Kakashi stares at him for a little while longer before nodding, slowly, because no doubt it's hard to move with a breathing mask with a whole lotta wires and tubes and whatnot. “Alright. We're leaving now.” He declares, and takes the breathing mask off.

He picks Kakashi up, but puts him down just as quickly when Kakashi starts flailing his limbs, almost whacking Minato in the face.

“What's wrong?” Minato asks, instantly alert.

“I… I n-need… th-tha-...” Kakashi gestures to the breathing mask. Minato puts the mask back on him right away, feeling like an idiot, and takes the ventilator as well. He picks Kakashi up again, easily, and carries him out of the room, bridal style.

He gets even more weird looks, but once again, he ignores them. This wouldn't count as kidnapping, would it?

Once he's out of the hospital, Minato teleports to Kakashi’s house, figuring it'd be easier that way. He quickly finds Kakashi’s bucket list, and tries stuffing it into his student's pocket, only to remember that he's in a hospital gown. Minato sighs.

Then sets Kakashi on the couch, putting the breathing machine on the seat next to him. He runs to Kakashi’s bedroom, to get new clothes.

A suitcase, or something of the sort, would be quite helpful right now, but Minato makes do with his many sealing scrolls. He first tries to pick out a simple outfit for Kakashi, only to realize he has _absolutely zero._

So Minato then teleports to his own house, and seals all of his clothes into a scroll, along with everything else he thinks he'll need. He grabs one of his plain t-shirts for Kakashi to wear, and teleports back to his student's house.

He's definitely abusing the power of shunshin and kawarimi. But right now, he doesn't care. He gets a few pairs of sweatpants from one of Kakashi’s drawers, and runs back over to his student.

Kakashi warily glances at him.

“You'll need to change clothes. Do you need my help?” Kakashi blushes pink, and shakes his head. He takes off the breathing mask. When Kakashi is just about to pull the hospital gown off, he gestures for Minato to look away. Minato rolls his eyes playfully but turns around, waiting patiently for Kakashi to finish.

When he is, he grunts and Minato turns back around. When he sees Kakashi he can't hold back his snort. He looks so _tiny_. Minato’s shirt is like a dress on him. He hides his smile when Kakashi glares, and clears his throat.

“Alright. Are you ready?” He asks. Kakashi’s eyes move over to his bucket list, which was left on the table. His student reaches over, and stuffs it into his pocket. By the look in his students eyes, he understands what they're doing. Then Kakashi nods, putting the breathing mask back on, and Minato shunshins them both to the village gates.

He won't be coming back to Konoha for a while.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi has never jumped on a trampoline before. I think about this a lot, so I decided to do something

Minato carried Kakashi halfway to a small town, before deciding to seal his student in a scroll, to summon later (He'll have to thank Kushina for that particular technique later) because Kakashi was getting pretty heavy. If he mentioned it, though, Kakashi’s ego would grow because he'd probably take it as ‘You're growing more muscle’ or something like that. And Kakashi’s ego is already big enough. Or maybe Kakashi would take it as Minato growing old, even though he's not even in his prime.

(Minato's mood dampens when he remembers that Kakashi is just barely _halfway_ there to his _prime_.)

Minato starts running with the scroll in his kunai pouch. He's not exactly sure where he's headed, but he'll improvise on the way.

He makes it to a small town, where he finds a place to buy a vehicle that's basically a moving house. It also has the option to hire a driver, which sounds convenient, so he does that.

When he gets inside the vehicle, he throws the scroll on the couch, and Kakashi poofs into sight, still asleep. Minato smiles fondly at his student, and picks up a few nicely folded blankets off of a table to toss on top of him.

The inside is pretty small, but still bigger than he had expected. And it has everything they need. Which is a bathroom, a small kitchen and a nice place to sleep.

After examining it a bit further, he unpacks everything else. He puts the few clothes he took with him into the dresser drawers. Minato approaches the spot where Kakashi is on the couch and falls down next to him, taking some of the blankets for himself.

~ × ~

Kakashi wakes up to the sight of… a moving window? _What?_ That can't be right… He takes the breathing mask off (okay, maybe he threw it on the floor like a child, but so what?), and sits upright. He feels better now, so he won't need it for a while, probably.

Where is he? His memory isn't providing him with anything useful. He just remembers being put to sleep in the hospital… Oh. He must've been on some strong medicine.

He looks around, examining his surroundings and sees Minato-sensei beside him, sprawled out across the couch, snoring softly. Kakashi carefully sat up. It's kind of difficult with all of the blankets on top of him, but if he's honest, he likes cuddling this way, with Sensei. Not that they're actually _cuddling_ , but they're really… close.

They were in some kind of… moving vehicle, he notices. It's a little weird, because he does not remember how he got here, and he's never been in a vehicle before. Kakashi, confused, looks out the window.

Outside, is a beautiful forest with hills and so many trees, and even mountains in the distance. The sight is enchanting, and Kakashi finds that he can't look away. It feels like he's in a dream. He cracks opens the window, enjoying the way the wind blows in his face.

He stands up, opens it all the way, and sticks his face out the window. He feels really childish doing it, but at least Sensei is still asleep. He inhales the nice air through his nose. Then he opens his mouth, as if he could taste it or something.

He leans further out the window, turning his head, so that his entire head and neck was out of the window. His tongue hangs out of his mouth, as he pants happily. He doesn't realize he's even doing it, though, until a leaf flies into his mouth. Kakashi promptly chokes on it, and pulls his head back inside, panicking.

~ × ~

Minato is a little bit puzzled, seeing Kakashi standing up with his head out the window. Before he can do anything, Kakashi brings his head in with a worried expression, coughing, like he's _choking on something._ Minato can feel his heart racing, and he was about to say something, but is cut off when Kakashi bends over to cough up a leaf on Minato's lap. He stares at it for a few seconds, then looks back up at Kakashi, who's grimacing, probably at the taste of the leaf. He watches as his student slowly realizes what he did, and turns pink.

“That's, um… nice of you.” He awkwardly says. He picks up the saliva-covered bits of leaf off of his lap, and leans forward, flicking them out the window. Kakashi sinks into the many blankets surrounding them, looking thoroughly embarrassed. Minato clears his throat. The brat really had him worried for a second.

“Uh… Where are we?” Kakashi asks, once his face returns to a more natural looking shade. Minato realizes that he probably doesn't remember the trip to where they are now. (They must have put him on some of the good stuff at the hospital.)

“We're on our way to- uhh… Well.” Minato taps his chin, then smiles. “That depends where you want to go.” Kakashi blinks, letting out a questioning grunt. Minato elaborates. “Your bucket list. Are there any specific destinations on it?” Kakashi stares at him a little longer, before realizing that he was being serious.

Kakashi gapes, then his surprised expression turns into a grin, as he just stares at Minato in _awe,_ sighing quietly. Minato is struck frozen with how _adorable_ Kakashi looks. He's never gotten the chance to actually see how Kakashi looks, when he's this happy. Minato doesn't even know if he has ever _been_ this happy.

“S-so.. what's the first thing on your bucket list?” Kakashi’s grin slowly turns into a lopsided smile, which is equally as cute.

“Well, I have three things that we can't just go and do, but that would happen as we go along.” Minato nods, understanding.

“What are they?”

“Well, I want to keep souvenirs of each memorable place we stay at. And… I also want to grow out my hair.” Kakashi says, shyly avoiding his gaze afterwards. Minato hums, imagining Kakashi with long hair. He'd probably look a lot like his father, with his mask on. But without it, Kakashi would probably show some resemblance to his mother. Of course, neither his mother or father had the red marks on their cheeks, but still. He actually still doesn't know where Kakashi got the marks… Anyway, thinking about the concept a bit more, Kakashi would look cute with long hair… Minato shakes his head, clearing his thoughts.

“What's the other one?” Minato asks, confused because Kakashi only told him two.

His student blushed a little.

“Um… I didn't think through the other one, it's stupid- O-oi!” Minato yanks the list out of Kakashi’s hands, ignoring the sudden shout from his student.

He reads the third line. And stares. Maybe he read it wrong… Kakashi’s handwriting wasn't that good, so maybe he just misread a word or two. He rereads it over, several times, but it says the same thing.

“You… want me to cuddle you every night?” Minato asks. Kakashi’s face gets even redder, almost as red as the marks on his face. But he nods, and Minato saves the knowledge for later. He hands the list back to his student, who quickly grabs it back.

“Um- Anyway, the first thing that we can actually do is…” Kakashi squints at the list. “Jump on a trampoline.” His student glances up at him. “I've never done it before, but I've heard about it, and I want to jump really high on one. Though I don't know where we could go...”

Minato grins, widely.

“I know where we can go. Wait here.” Minato gets up, and walks across the tile floor and into a small section, where their driver is sitting, behind the steering wheel. He bends down to quietly tell him their destination, and the man nods, so he quickly returns to Kakashi.

Remembering that Kakashi doesn't know exactly what the situation is, Minato’s face pinches in sadness. He clears his throat once he sits down, getting his student's undivided attention. He hopes Kakashi won't be _too_ upset...

“Kakashi. You don't know the whole situation, do you?” His student sinks a little after he asks this, and shakes his head. Minato frowns. “You're not returning to Konoha.” He says, and watches Kakashi’s reaction closely. His student's eyes widen a little bit, just before they narrow, and confusion appears on his face.

“Why aren't we?” Kakashi asks, with his eyebrows pulled together. Minato feels his heart ache at the ‘we’.

“Kakashi. Your illness prevents you from staying as an active shinobi. It's fatal.” A few seconds pass, and Kakashi takes the news considerably well, but he still seems nervous about something.

“Y-you’ll stay with me, though? The whole time? U-until I die?” Did Kakashi really think that Minato would _leave him to die on his own?_ Of course not. Minato wishes he'd be able to do this stuff with Obito and Rin, too. But their death had no warning...

“Yes. And, Kakashi- You have about two years, at most.” He informs his student. Kakashi is twelve, currently (almost thirteen, actually), so he'd be about fifteen at his death. Minato looks down, blinking away tears. But his student doesn't seem disappointed. He's looking at him in amazement.

“Th- _thank you Sensei_ .” Kakashi all but _leaps at him_ and tackles him onto the couch. Minato remembers that Kakashi grew up way earlier than he was supposed to, and has never truly and thoroughly experienced the familial love he needs. Kakashi would appreciate _any_ time Minato spent with him. Wordlessly, he hugs his student back, and wipes his eyes with his sleeve.

…

“So, can you guess where we're going?”

“Land of Tea.” Kakashi says, confidently, and Minato slumps.

“How did you _know_ ?” He asks, and Kakashi gains a smug look, not replying. “You didn't _guess_ , did you?” Minato squints. Kakashi, for a second, looks sheepish, but that's enough of a tell.

“Of _course_ not. I simply.. memorized the exact directions the way there, and associated the environm-”

“Kakashi, you were asleep for most of the trip.” He pointed out, smiling in amusement.

“Hn.” His student crossed his arms. Then, Kakashi's eyes widen. "Wait, you _said_ to guess." His student points out in return, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah." Minato says, dismissively. Kakashi squints at him, and Minato gets up. He walks away.

"Sensei? Sensei, I did what you said." Kakashi says, quickly hopping up to follow him. Minato quickens his pace, playfully, grinning as Kakashi runs after him. "Sensei! I didn't do anything wrong. _Sensei,_ where are you going?"

…

It wasn't much longer before they reached the house Minato requested to go to. He thanked the driver (Who's asleep now but the sentiment was there) and took Kakashi outside.

They arrive at the house of rich people that Minato really dislikes. Who, coincidentally, have a giant trampoline that they probably never use. So, Minato is doing them a favor, really.

His student is squinting at the house, as if something was going to jump out of it and attack him. Though, Minato wouldn't be surprised if that actually did happen, here. The family living here was… scary, to put it plainly.

“Okay, Kakashi. Here's the plan. We sneak past the side of the house, avoiding the windows. There's a really big trampoline on the other side, and a pool. Once we get there, we can complete our mission.” Kakashi nods, understanding the utmost importance of the whole thing.

They only make it to the front yard before sprinklers turn on, and start spraying water everywhere. A small dog comes out from the porch, and barks its head off at them. Minato inwardly cringes.

“Distract the dog. I'll deal with the sprinklers.” Minato says, and runs towards the sprinklers as Kakashi runs at the dog, pulls down his mask and… _growls?_ Minato stops in confusion for a second, but completes what he needs to do. He shoves a kunai where the water sprays out from, effectively stopping it for the most part. He does this a few more times with the other ones, and runs back to Kakashi.

Who's currently standing over the devil-dog, growling at it into submission.

“Kakashi, come on!” He yells, snapping his student out of his daze, and they run to the trampoline together.

Once they reach it, Minato kneels down, letting Kakashi use his hand as a step-up tool to get on top of the thing. Minato quickly follows, amusedly watching as Kakashi slips on the surface of the trampoline instead of landing on his feet as he probably planned.

He jumps up and down on it easily, laughing softly when Kakashi falls several times more.

“Kakashi-kun, stand up.” He teases, and Kakashi soon gains his balance. “Now jump.” Kakashi doesn't move, besides the occasional flailing of his arms when Minato jumps a little closer to him.

“How?” Minato bursts out into laughter at the genuine confusion in his student’s voice.

Kakashi soon gets the hang of it, and is jumping a few feet in the air. Minato hums, applies some chakra to his feet, and jumps about ten feet in the air. Kakashi stares at him, and when Minato lands, he goes _flying._ Minato’s mouth gapes open. He didn't mean to do _that._

His student flips a few times before coming back down, and now Minato is the one who's flying.

The same process is repeated for a few minutes, and they're just laughing their asses off at nothing for the whole few minutes. Then, when Minato lands, he jumps twice, landing on the opposite side of the trampoline.

He turns around, and Kakashi is about _fifty feet in the air,_ and It doesn't look like he's going to land on the trampoline again. Minato silently panics. They still have more things to do together, Kakashi can't die _now!_

Kakashi screams his name, and then makes a perfect cannonball into the underground pool, making a huge splash. Minato sighs in relief, and runs after his student. Kakashi comes up from the water, completely soaked.

“Sensei!” He says. Minato reaches the edge of the pool, and watches Kakashi flail around in the water.

“Come on.” He says, waving his student over.

“I-I can't…” Minato stares in confusion for a few seconds before he gets it. Oh. Minato mentally facepalms. Kakashi doesn't know how to swim.

Not knowing how to quickly explain the process, Minato looks around, for nearby resources. He sees a giant donut floaty, and pushes it into the water towards Kakashi.

“Grab onto that, and kick your legs.” He tells his student. Kakashi tries to do as he says, but ends up falling face-first through the hole. Minato hides his snicker, and gets in the water with Kakashi.

Once he reaches his student, Kakashi leaps onto his back, and Minato swims to land with him. Then Kakashi jumps off his back, and shakes almost all of the water off, reminding Minato much of a dog. Kakashi’s hair is sticking up at every angle, kind of like the spikes on a hedgehog. He grins at his student, and tells him to race him to the thingy.

The driver is awake now, and looking at them confusedly, because, well, they're both all wet. Minato grins, sheepishly, and goes to the bathroom to grab towels for the both of them. He tosses one to Kakashi.

“Alright, uh… we're going to need to head to the store… I, um, don't have enough clothes for you, I'm afraid.”

“Ah. Do you have any for me, right now?” Kakashi asks him. Minato gets up, and heads the dresser, searching inside of it.

“Well, you didn't have any casual clothes, so I just brought some of your pants… You're wearing my shirt, right now.”

“Ah…” Kakashi blushes, and Minato laughs softly.

“And I couldn't find your underwear anywhere, so I couldn't get that either.”

“About that. Um, that's Pakkun’s fault.” Minato raised an eyebrow. “He steals my underwear to smell them.”

“Oh.” Then, Minato remembers something. “You do that too!” He says, grinning. Now he knows where Kakashi got that particular habit of his. Kakashi looks at him, confused. Then, realization appears on his face. Then, horror.

“Y-you!” Kakashi looks around, indignantly, cheeks turning red. “We agreed not to talk about that!”

“Kakashi, you used to _keep my underwear in your bedroom._ ”

 _“Sensei!”_ Kakashi whines, obviously embarrassed, but Minato doesn't relent.

“But, I guess it's not quite as bad when you used to straight up _sniff my crotch._ ”

“Y-your scent was strong, I couldn't help myself! You- You never told me that it was- You didn't-” Kakashi stutters. "I didn't know!” He says, and Minato wonders if he'd faint from spontaneous combustion or something like that.

They continue bickering back and forth, and in the back of his mind, Minato selfishly wishes they could have even more time for just little things like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how when you come home, the first thing your dog would do is like sniff your crotch/butt? Yea... Minato had to do something about that particular trait of Kashi's :')


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They build a tree house okay-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for taking so long to update ansksjaksjsja

Luckily, the store they had gone to had a wide variety of clothing, because Kakashi was _really picky_. Minato was getting so exasperated with all of the _“those are too light”_ s, _“bad material”_ s, and _“too ugly”_ s.

So they did end up getting some stuff. He got Kakashi white sneakers, some t-shirts that were more his size (because Kakashi can't just wear Minato's clothes forever), some sweatpants, and multiple smiley boxers. Which, his student had given him a _death glare_ once he had noticed them in the shopping bag. But it's not _Minato’s_ fault that Kakashi was simply too picky to choose something for himself. He was just helping his student out, really.

They also got some food and snacks as well, because Minato realized that neither of them have really ate since the day they left. They ate fish for dinner, and Minato had some dango along with it. He had tried getting his student to try some, but Kakashi stubbornly refused to the point where he threatened to steal one of the fish the owners kept in the freezer, and slap Minato across the face with it. The threat worked, and Minato stopped after that, dejectedly accepting the fact that Kakashi hates sweets.

Thinking back on the event, Minato laughs. Kakashi glares at him, only causing him to laugh harder. When his student asks what he's laughing about, Minato just fondly shakes his head. Kakashi grunts in annoyance. Minato sighs, calming down to ask a question.

“So… what's next on your list?” His student blinks twice.

“Uhm…” Kakashi scrabbles the area around them, and grabs the list, squinting his eyes at it. “Make a tree house.” He reads aloud. Minato hums in thought.

“I don't think I've ever done that before… It'll be a first for both of us.” Minato says, smiling. Not knowing what to say, Kakashi simply _hns_ and looks away.

In the short while they've been away from Konoha, Minato has noticed something. Kakashi was a lot more… open, around him. He doesn't even pull the mask up as much. When he does, it's usually out of habit. Of course, there was still a dismissive attitude once in a while, but most of the time it's playful. But his main accomplishment was that Kakashi can smile now, and relax, because Minato will protect him for as long as he's alive.

He gets a bright neon green shirt, with matching toad pajama pants, and goes to the bathroom to change into them. Once he returns, Kakashi is pulling on a white t-shirt, already clothed in grey sweatpants. Kakashi wasn't even wearing the mask at all. He beams at his student.

“Well, don't you think it's time to call it a day?” Minato asks Kakashi, yawning for emphasis. It's been getting dark later at night every day, because summer was coming. Their day was rather eventful, and Minato was tired. Kakashi nods, but something else seems to be on his mind.

“We don't have to- y-you know… if you don't want to.” Kakashi said, not looking him in the eye and looking a little… _embarrassed?_ Minato frowns in confusion, then remembers one of their previous conversations. _Ah_.

“Kakashi, I'm fine with it. We can cuddle.”

To prove his point, Minato walks over to the couch, moving over some of the blankets before sitting down in a comfortable position. Then, he holds his arms open, motioning for Kakashi to come. His student slowly walks over then carefully sits by his side. His face is flushed pink, and he looks a little embarrassed, but mostly curious. They each shift around a few times, trying find a spot they can both sleep in, until Kakashi was practically sticking to Minato like glue. His face was buried into Minato’s shoulder. Kakashi seemed very content like this, and it was comfortable for himself, as well. Minato wraps his arm around the boy’s waist, and pulls the blankets over them.

...

Minato rolls over on the couch, stretching, before freezing completely because _did he just crush Kakashi-kun?_ He sits up to see, and Kakashi isn't there, so he lies back down and relaxes. Wait. _Kakashi isn't there._ Minato is instantly up again, and his eyes are wide as he scans the room.

Expanding his chakra, he senses his student in the bathroom. The faint sound of the shower running sets his mind at ease. Minato sighs in relief.

Though, where else would Kakashi have really gone? And who would have been able to take him, with Minato _right there?_ As he's thinking about it a little deeper, he realizes that nobody actually knows where exactly they are, except for the sandaime. And it's not like the old man would run around with a megaphone informing people about his lengthy absence. Nobody knew where they were, or what happened. As far as they knew, they could just be on a short mission.

Kakashi didn't even get to say goodbye to anybody. Minato didn't, either, but at least _he_ was coming back. Minato frowns, as a bad feeling almost overwhelms him

What would Kakashi’s _eternal rival_ think about this? The two would do challenges and contests almost every day. He was the only one that Minato knew Kakashi considered as a friend. (Well, that was still _alive_ , anyway.) Not that he'd say it out loud.

Minato looks at the ground, now feeling really guilty.

People would probably be worried about the both of them. After a while passes, Kushina would probably break down the door to the hokage office and demand to know where he was. Kakashi doesn't really talk to a lot of people, but that Maito kid is actually really nice and a true friend. He was one of the people that should have been informed of Kakashi’s illness, probably. But Minato had up and left, without saying a word to anyone.

“Sensei?” His thoughts are cut off, and he looks up at his student, who's wearing one of _Minato’s_ shirts with an indigo pair of pants. He stares at his student.

“That's… That's my shirt.” Even though Minato had bought Kakashi new clothes to prevent this from happening, he's not entirely upset. It's impossible for him to stay upset when his student looked so adorable in the oversized clothing.

“Oh, I didn't notice.” Kakashi says, but doesn't make any notion of changing into something else. And how could he have not noticed? It's about _double the size of him._

Minato shakes his head, then goes to take a shower himself. He smiles to himself, reminding himself that what they're doing is _okay._ They both need this.

…

“So, Kakashi. We're going to some secluded forest that I forgot the name of, but it doesn't matter.” Minato dumbly explains, and his student blinks several times.

“Okay.” Kakashi pauses, then looks at his bucket list once again. “Can we also make a zip line?” He asks, looking up at Minato with big eyes that are _too adorable_ to say no to, not that he would anyway. Minato nods at him. The gleam in Kakashi’s eyes already makes his day even better.

“Yeah. We're almost there, too.”

Once they arrived, Minato skipped to the door of the vehicle, and jumped out. Kakashi followed him, but stumbled slightly, having miscalculated the fall.

They were in a thick forest that, surprisingly, wasn't that cold. It was even a little bit humid, but nothing they couldn't handle. There were little spots of sunlight being filtered through the trees, and the extra light made the place look even more beautiful.

“Alright. Let's gather wood, first.”

“Hai.”

They went separate directions. Minato blinks at a tree, wondering how he should go about doing this. He opens his mouth to say something to Kakashi but whatever he was going to say dies in his throat when his student _kicks down a tree._ The tree collapses, and he hears some of the branches break, and the leaves rustle at the disturbance. Minato stares, eyes and mouth wide.

“Uh…” Is the intellectual thing that comes out of his mouth. Kakashi turns to look at him, and Minato quickly closes his mouth.

“What?” His student asks, like he didn't just knock a tree down with his _leg._

“That… that works. But, um… Maybe we should collect stones first, to make tools. To make things a bit easier.” Minato explains, numbly. Kakashi hums, examining his work.

“That was easy enough.” He pointedly says, before looking back at Minato.

“Alright.. Well, you do… you. I'm going to make some tools. We'll need things to keep the house together, anyway. Like nails, and stuff like that.”

“Hn.” Kakashi agrees, and gets back to work.

Minato picked up a few rocks, and, after not being able to carry twelve of them, threw them into a pile that's now dubbed _The Rock Pile._

Eventually, he's pretty sure he has more than enough, because The Rock Pile is now almost as tall as Minato. And about as wide, in diameter, as three Kakashis lying on the ground.

Minato walks over to to his student. And almost faints in shock once he sees the boy.

“ _Kakashi!_ Put that down!! I'll carry it!” He reprimands his student, because he was _hauling a tree over his shoulder_. Kakashi gives him a look that clearly reads _Are you kidding me._ Minato _isn't_ kidding him. He _can't_ _believe_ him. Here he is with a _fatal illness,_ carrying a tree like it's a… _a blanket_ , or something.

“I'm fine, Sensei.” He casually says.

“Kakashi!! You can't carry that!” Kakashi raises an eyebrow at him and _shrugs._ How the hell is he _shrugging_ with a huge tree being carried over his shoulder?

“Seems like I'm carrying it just fine, to me.” Minato angrily sighs. What a _brat._

“You're just going to hurt yourself.” He huffs.

“Sensei, my illness doesn't affect my _strength_.”

“Kakashi, it's fatal. I'm pretty sure that means it affects your strength.” Maybe that was a little bit too mean, and Minato doesn't miss how Kakashi's smug look fades into something a lot more insecure.

“Well it's not affecting my strength right now.” He says, voice sharp, looking away, away. Minato feels terrible but he can't just let him do something like this himself. Even if he didn't have the illness, he could hurt himself.

“At least let me help.” He demands, and Kakashi finally complies. Minato walks over, taking a spot behind Kakashi as the boy moves forward to spread the weight. Minato’s voice softens. "Kakashi, I know you're strong. But everyone has limits. You don't have to try and prove anything." He says. He takes note of how the words make Kakashi freeze completely.

"I'm not trying to prove anything. Plus, I won't be able to do things like this anymore." Kakashi’s voice is perfectly controlled. Minato is silent, and it causes Kakashi to sigh. But, a few seconds later, he speaks up. "I think that you still... You still see me as a kid."

"Well, you are." This must have been the wrong thing to say, because Minato notices how it seems to set something off in Kakashi.

"I'm a _capable jounin_. You know I could've joined Anbu if I hadn't gotten sick." This makes Minato wince. He's actually been asked by both Hiruzen and Danzo about bringing Kakashi into Anbu, or Root, or whatever. He denied, because after a while of thinking about it, Minato realized that it may not be the smartest thing to do. It would have only made Kakashi fall into a deeper, darker hole. "I'm able to win ninjutsu and taijutsu fights against shinobi older than you, more than twice my size and weight. I've _killed people_ before. Kids don't do that, Sensei."

They reach the spot the tree needs to be, and drop it down on the grassy floor, with the synchronization of people who've worked with each other most of their lives.

"What do you see yourself as, then?" Minato asks, genuinely curious. Kakashi is silent. Ten seconds pass, and Minato doesn't think he's going to actually answer. Finally, a soft voice speaks up.

"I'd _like_ to see myself as someone who's equal to you..." Kakashi mumbles something after that, and Minato can't quite catch it.

"Hm?"

"But you make it really hard." He says, just loud enough for Minato to hear. But the moment the meaning reaches Minato’s ears, he feels his heart sink. Kakashi isn't very open about stuff like this, but when he is, he knows exactly how to hit Minato where it hurts most. He can't even come up with a semi-reasonable response that could cheer his student up, so he ends up staying silent. "I used to think that.. maybe I could be, one day. But now... Now it's unthinkable." Minato feels terrible. So he does the only thing he can think of.

He holds his arms out, wide, inviting. Kakashi narrows his eyes.

"Can I give you a hug?" He asks, because it looks like his student needs one. He may not _want_ one, but it looks like he needs one, really badly.

"A hug won't fix everything." Kakashi says. But Minato persists.

"Of course it won't. But it's at least a start." He replies. Kakashi rubs his eyes with one hand and runs towards him to give him a hug.

…

About two hours pass, and Minato is now using his makeshift hammer to build the tree house. Kakashi is sitting about fifteen feet away from him, sitting near The Rock Pile. He was busy breaking apart stones with his kunai and carving them into nail-like shapes for Minato to use. The atmosphere has gotten a little less sad and emotional, and was now just... busy, instead. They've both calmed down, and were relaxed.

Minato walked down the tree to the ground, to examine his work. So far, he only had the platform for a base of the flooring. He hasn't even made stairs yet. Minato hums, and backs up a little.

“How's that… rock-carving going, Kakashi?” He asks, still facing the large tree.

“Oh. It's, uh… _going._ ” Kakashi says, in a strange tone. Minato turns to face him, and blinks. Kakashi is sitting on the ground, stabbing a rock with a kunai. But that's not what's strange. What's strange, is the _crow that's perched on top of his student's head._ “It's not a messenger, if that's what you're worried about.” Kakashi casually assures him. Minato stares for a little bit longer, in disbelief.

Then he thinks about it a little deeper. Kakashi’s name literally means scarecrow. Yet a crow is nesting in his hair. Minato snorts, then starts laughing quietly to himself.

“Stop giggling, Sensei. You're not living up to your shinobi name.” Kakashi says, scowling. Minato laughs even louder.

“Y- _you’re_ the one who's not living up to your name, _scarecrow_.” Minato says, in between laughter as Kakashi’s face turns pink.

…

Another few hours pass, and the crow is now perched on the railing Minato has made. Kakashi is now helping him build the place, so their work is getting done even faster. Kakashi jumps on the walls, applying chakra so that he doesn't fall, and begins building the ceiling. In the meantime, Minato fixes up a few more things with his kunai.

He carves in little intricate designs, and smooths out the wood. He's already got more splinters than he can count.

“ _Ah_ -!” His thoughts are abruptly cut off, and Minato turns around to see Kakashi falling to the ground. Minato gapes in shock. But he sees Kakashi turn in the air, and land on his feet, with the agility of a cat. Minato had his hands on the railing with a tight grip, feet in the air, ready to leap over it, kunai forgotten. He had been prepared to jump down himself, and catch his student. He sighed, and closed his eyes, lowering himself back down on the platform.

The brat was going to give him grey hairs if this kind of stuff continues.

Opening his eyes again, he sees the crow that had been hanging out with them, pecking at his student's head, and avoiding the occasional punches or hits from him.

“Kakashi-kun, are you alright?” Minato yells, _just to be sure._

“I'm fine, Sensei!” Kakashi yells back up at him in reply.

…

The sun is already setting. The scene was so beautiful to look at. As well as the young being sitting next to him.

Minato glances over at his student, who was looking at the view with a serene expression on his face. The sunset reflects on his pale features and light hair, making them seem radiant. Kakashi was already beautiful, even though he was so young. Minato wishes that the boy would live longer, and he could see him age, and grow into one of the most amazing shinobi, and an amazing person himself. _Not that he isn't already,_ Minato supposes.

He and Kakashi are sitting side by side on the roof of the cute little tree house they've made together.

The air has cooled down, so they're sitting rather closely, with Kakashi’s head leaning against his shoulder. The crow is sitting a few feet away from them, watching them. Minato doesn't know what its deal is. They aren't even _bothering_ it.

And they've already checked to see if it was some kind of spy. Which, it wasn't.

Pondering a bit more about the subject, another thought pops up in his mind. Kakashi wants a souvenir of all of the places they visit. Hm…

Minato looks around. Would a picture count? Minato slowly puts his arm around the boy, and pulls a camera out of his pouch. Grinning, he snaps a quick picture of him and Kakashi.

His student rubs his eyes, and blinks from the flash.

“Sensei?” He asks, voice sounding a bit strained. He must be tired.

“Come on, Kakashi-kun. We need to take pictures.” Minato explains, and Kakashi yawns, but gets up as well.

After they took a lot of pictures of the tree house (and a few of the crow), they returned to the large vehicle. He makes them both ramen, because it's a simple meal, and they're both too tired to really make anything else.

After eating, Minato falls down on the couch face-first. Kakashi leaps on to his back, and falls asleep instantly. Minato smiles, and slowly falls asleep listening to the sound of Kakashi’s calm, even breathing.

~ × ~

Kakashi wakes up, and yawns quietly. Comfortable, he snuggles further into Sensei’s warm back.

A few minutes later, once he's more awake, Kakashi stretches, and rolls off of Sensei. He grabs some new clothes to change into, and heads to the bathroom.

After changing, Kakashi walks around the place, boredly. Minato-sensei hasn't woken up yet. Kakashi stares at his sleeping form in content, just silently admiring him. But when a few minutes of him go by, of him not waking up, he feels a bit annoyed. Kakashi huffs, and walks over to the man.

“Sensei.” He says. Minato-sensei twitches in his sleep.

“Kushina… ‘m sorry…” The man mutters, drooling. Kakashi’s eyebrows furrow.

“ _Minato-s_ _ensei_.” He repeats, and Sensei’s eyes finally blink open, then focus on him.

“Oh, Kashi-kun.” He says, then grimaces once he notices he was drooling onto one of the blankets. He wipes it on his sleeve, and Kakashi makes a face. _How disgusting…_

Kakashi laments to himself, as Sensei gets up, grabs some clothes, and goes to the bathroom.

Sighing, Kakashi takes Sensei’s camera, and looks through the pictures the man took. Most of them, Kakashi didn't even notice were taken. Kakashi goes through some more, and eventually finds a few of that annoying crow that was following him around for a bit. Kakashi smiles softly, seeing the first picture taken, where Sensei had wrapped his arm around him and pulled him closely, to take it.

“Kakashi, come on.” Minato tapped his foot, as if _he_ was the one waiting. But he was grinning widely, making Kakashi blush a little. He follows the other outside, and Sensei pulls out a rope from his pouch. “Alright… How are we gonna do this?” The man quietly mutters, probably to himself but Kakashi hears it anyway.

Sensei stands a few feet in front of Kakashi, deep in thought. Kakashi contemplates making a random loud noise to get his attention, but decides not to, because _that's stupid_ , and also because Sensei is turning around now, about to say something to him. Kakashi straightens.

“We'll tie this rope to a tree, with a kunai attached.” The man demonstrates by getting a kunai out, and sticking the strong rope through the small loop on the non-sharp side of the weapon. “And then, we'll tie the other end, to another tree. Then we can tie a rope to this kunai.” He finishes.

That... sounds extremely dangerous. Kakashi is _so down._

Kakashi pretends to consider it for a few more seconds, then nods.

Minato-sensei smiles and hands him one end of the rope, and Kakashi takes it, and runs up a tree, making sure to keep the kunai in his hand as well. He quickly ties it to a tree, as Sensei runs with the other end to do the same. Once Sensei returns, Kakashi walks to the other side of the tree and onto a branch. He crouches on it, to give Sensei room to climb up as well.

“Alright.” Sensei gets some more of the rope, and ties it around the kunai. Kakashi squints at it, wondering how reliable it would be. “There you go.” Sensei calmly says.

“Is that… Is that it?” Kakashi asks, with only a little bit of cautiousness in his voice.

“Well, it's not a traditional zip-line, but it'll do. Just go for it.”

“Hn.” Kakashi tightens the rope, grabs a hold of it, and twists his body awkwardly. His feet are still on the branch, but his hands are securely grasping the rope. He looks up at Sensei. The man kindly smiles at him, and holds the kunai still.

“I'll hold this until you say to let go.” Kakashi hums in approval, and finally takes his feet off. He then lets out an unmanly sound when Sensei _lets go_ of the kunai and Kakashi _flies through the forest_.

His heart races uncontrollably, and he can hear the rough sound of the kunai scraping against the rope as it slides across it. Once he sees where the end is, he does a backflip off of the... thing, landing on a branch, maybe wobbling a little bit. Sensei must have applied chakra to the rope or kunai or something because Kakashi is _sure_ it wasn't meant to be that fast. He tries to calm his racing heart down, and makes his way back to Sensei.

Sensei, who's _laughing his ass off_ at his expense.

“I-I..” Sensei can't even make out what he's trying to say, he's laughing too hard. Kakashi watches him from the ground, narrowing his eyes in playful annoyance. Because he's not _actually mad_ , and the man is laughing, so Kakashi feels any anger he might've held slowly dissipate. Plus, it was more… _unexpected_ , than anything. “Kakashi, I'm sorry.. I d-didn’t mean for it to go that fast!” Sensei says, with some words broken off into fits of laughter.

“I'm glad to see _you_ enjoyed it.” Kakashi huffs, and hides a smile, while checking off another two things on his bucket list he's been keeping around with him lately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys see any spelling/grammar mistakes, or anything that doesn't make sense in general, please tell me! I'll try and fix them! :) Anyway thanks for reading <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now they go rollerblading

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking forever to update😭💕 here's the next chapter
> 
> Whole thing is in Kakashi's POV

Staring out the window, Kakashi is surprised again to see that they've passed another hospital. That must've been the _seventh_ one they've passed, in the span of about two hours. Kakashi's eyes are wide in wonder. He opened his mouth, just about to mention it to Minato-sensei, when the reason why struck him.

He shouldn't be as surprised as he is. Sensei is a very careful man, and is thorough in whatever he does.

It was because of _Kakashi_. Well, his illness, that is. He had probably told their driver to follow routes that had hospitals conveniently nearby in case of an emergency. It was a very smart, and reasonable thing to do. Kakashi is more surprised that he hadn't noticed himself until now.

He couldn't resist the urge to turn around, and admire the man from afar. Minato-sensei had the perfect shade of blonde hair. It reminded Kakashi of the color of a sunset. Not the burning, bright red orange, but the warm, relaxing, lighter glow that was easier on the eyes. Or the shade that the clouds were, before the sun falls. His skin was tan, and still looked perfect to Kakashi even though it had scars, calluses, and a roughness that most people didn't have, because most people haven't worked as a shinobi for about half of their life.

Minato-sensei was perfect to him. He was… beautiful. The most beautiful man Kakashi had ever laid eyes on. (Not that he would say it outside of the comfort of his own thoughts. Not yet, at least.) Admittedly, his opinions were quite biased. Kakashi saw the world through a Konoha-tinted filter, focused on his sensei. People shouldn't listen to his sentiment.

By perfect, Kakashi didn't mean flawless: Sensei had his own set of problems. He was forgetful, and really dense sometimes. He also had a habit of chewing on pens and pencils when he's been writing for a while. And his left hand would curl up, into almost a fist but not quite, if he's been caught in a lie. Those were only a few of the things that Kakashi had learned about over the many years of working with the man. There were much more.

Minato-sensei was also sometimes a little bit too forgiving, and merciful to people. He was an overly kind man.

Kakashi has learned to accept these traits. Welcome them, even. Sensei is who he is, and Kakashi wouldn't change him for anything. His flaws made him perfect, to Kakashi.

Apparently he had been staring for a little bit _too_ long, because Sensei suddenly turned to look at him, with a curious look on his face. He was making some coffee, to wake himself up.

“Need something, ‘Kashi?” His words were a little bit slurred, having just woken up a short while ago. Kakashi shook his head. But since the topic had come up, he quickly pulled his bucket list from his pocket, and scanned it.

“The next thing I want to do is, um… learn how to rollerblade.” Kakashi said, and Sensei’s face brightened.

“Oh. We can do that. I've actually done that before, so I can show you how.” The man went on to describe the experience, tiredness gone in a flash, and Kakashi smiled to himself. He liked hearing Sensei’s voice. Especially when he was talking about something he enjoys. It was the most soothing thing he could ever listen to. Kakashi would listen to audios of his voice every night, if he could.

Kakashi blinks at his own thoughts, reflecting on them in consideration. He really loves Minato. It doesn't surprise him; he's known ever since he was little. Though, he supposes he's just never known the true extent of it. And maybe he still doesn't, even now.

He wonders if Sensei knows about even a fraction of Kakashi’s love for him. Or, maybe even reciprocates it, in some way.

Kakashi shuts the idea down as soon as it comes. He can't think like that. He can't give himself hope. As much as Kakashi wants it, he's always known his limits for attachments.

_But maybe… Maybe he doesn't need them, now?_

Kakashi’s eyes flicker to his bucket list; to a few of the goals, in general, and feels guilt well up inside of him. He looks away from it, contemplating erasing them completely, before remembering he had written it in ink. It couldn't be _erased_. And it would be _impossible_ to create a new one, especially without any suspicion from Sensei.

“Are you feeling well?” The worried tone snaps Kakashi back into reality. “Your face is red… Do you have a fever? Is that a side effect, or…”

“I-I’m fine, Sensei.” Kakashi muttered. Minato-sensei worries way too much.

“If you're _sure_ …” The man takes a sip of his coffee. Kakashi _would_ have some himself, but Sensei puts way too much creamer in it, and sugar, and whatever else. He had tried it before, once, and puked on the man. The experience had been _absolutely mortifying_. Sensei got the hint, though, and never made him try it again. “Anyway. We can get a pair of them at just about any store, then we can try them out in a small town somewhere. I know some places.” He told Kakashi, and he silently nodded in reply.

He turned around again, to continue looking out the window but the peace was broken in a span of maybe two seconds.

“ _Kakashi_ , come here.” Kakashi blinked, and met his eyes. Sensei motioned for him to sit with him. Kakashi gathered his list, stuffing it back into his pocket, before walking over, crossing his arms. He sat down, right beside the older man, and looked at the ground. “Alright. Now turn around.”

Kakashi turned around, so that he was now facing the man. Said man blinked, confusion clear in his eyes, and his brows pulled close. “No, the other way.” He said, flailing his hand in a gesture that Kakashi doesn't quite get. He huffed, embarrassed, and turned around again so that his back was facing him.

When he felt a hand on his back, Kakashi instinctually tensed up, and he heard Minato-sensei sigh.

“I'm just gonna give you a massage, alright? To help you relax.” He said, and Kakashi nodded. His face was probably turning red, so he's glad Sensei couldn't see it. He felt his heart beat a little faster, and all that was on his mind were the few things on his bucket list that Kakashi didn't think ever be able to work up the courage to tell him about. “Hey, Kakashi? Come on, you're even _more_ tense now!” Sensei poked him a few times, before grabbing his shoulders and shaking him for a couple of seconds.

“Sen _sei_.” Kakashi dragged out his name in annoyance. But his mild annoyance quickly faded into gratification when the man started rubbing, and massaging his shoulders.

The man hums, content in his work, and maybe Kakashi does too. He can't help it, it feels really nice. Little tingles of pleasure flow through his spine, and Kakashi closes his eyes.

He doesn't know how much time passes, but eventually his hair is ruffled, and he opens his eyes, forgetting he had even shut them in the first place. Turning around, he sees that Sensei is smiling brightly.

“ _See_ , there ya go. Feel better now?” Sensei asks. Kakashi weakly nods, because he _does_ feel better now. _Sensei’s hands must work really well_ \- Kakashi puts that train of thought to a halt. Minato-sensei smiles, satisfied with his reaction, and gets up to drink his coffee.

…

Kakashi thought he'd get used to it right away, because, well, he was a _ninja_. But apparently, this didn't affect his skating ability. Because that, for lack of better terms, _utterly sucked._

His ass was probably bruised from _falling on it every two minutes_. And Sensei’s stomach was probably sore with how much he was _laughing at him._

“Kaka _shi_ …” The man dragged out his name in fond exasperation. “C’mon. Get up, and try again. Wait, _no_ \- wrong stance!” He was too late. Kakashi fell, _again_.

They were in a skating park thing, that was abandoned for what seemed like at least a few years. Railings were cracked in half, and the place seemed pretty dull, in general. Which, Kakashi didn't have any problem with considering he was with the human form of _sunshine_ , that could light up any spot he was in with just one of his smiles.

“Do you need me to hold your hand?” He looked up, and saw the man grinning at him playfully. Kakashi glared at him, and started to get up. He felt his feet move out from under him for the _nth_ time, but strong hands held him up before he could fall. He- wasn't expecting Sensei _actually_ to… “Here, move your feet like this,” his guiding voice cuts through Kakashi’s thoughts. “When you stop, make sure to turn one so that you stay in place. I know you have good balance, I guess your control is just a little lacking.” Kakashi doesn't even notice how Sensei jokingly bashes him. He's too fixated on the hands that are holding him in place on his arm and side. And the heat of his body that's suddenly _really_ close.

“Y- _yeah_ …”

“Pick your foot up. I'll make sure you don't fall.” Kakashi is sure his face and ears are now _bright red,_ but he's glad Sensei doesn't mention anything. He lifts a shaky foot, and his other one slides underneath him.

This results in his limbs wildly flailing, and he's surprised Sensei hasn't dropped him, or thrown him somewhere yet. But he's _not_ surprised at the man’s seemingly uncontrollable laughter that doesn't seem like it's going to end anytime soon.

“That's not…” Sensei’s sentence breaks off into a wheeze.

All of the sudden, he feels the pressure caused by Sensei’s hands being slowly removed, as they're falling backwards. Sensei is still laughing, _even_ as they fall to the ground. This time, Minato-sensei is the one to fall on his ass, and Kakashi lands on his lap. He quickly rolls off of the man, to avoid an embarrassing situation, and sits down next to him. Sensei is now sitting up, laughing lightly, and his eyes are filled with tears of laughter. Other than that, he's mostly calmed down.

“What's so funny?”

“Kakashi- Y-you! Pffft-” He breaks off into another laughing fit and Kakashi finds himself smiling as well. Sensei wipes more tears off with his sleeves, which are now probably becoming damp. He playfully rolls his eyes at the older man.

“ _Sensei_ … I need to learn how to skate…” Kakashi says, in a way that he hopes doesn't sound _too_ whiny.

Smiling widely, the man easily gets up, holding his hand out for Kakashi to take. Kakashi grabs a hold of it, but before he can pull himself up all of the way, Sensei _whirls him away._ Everything is moving in a blur, as he spins in a tiny circle, and he _can't stop_.

“Now try standing.” Kakashi can't help but think that although Sensei is a _great sensei,_ he's really terrible at teaching how to rollerblade. But he listens anyway, and he actually manages to stand up fully, even though he's still spinning. He just… can't see anything. He spins a few more times before hitting a _fence_. “Careful, that's the fence.” Sensei helpfully pipes up. Kakashi would roll his eyes, but he's not confident that he wouldn't get whiplash from it, so he doesn't.

“Hn.” Kakashi blinks a few times, trying to get used to _not rotating_. When he can see without the world turning sideways, he gets up again. Sensei grabs his hand, and pulls Kakashi with him, as they skate across the concrete ground. Kakashi feels his heart racing, and he's not sure if it's the adrenaline, or just because he's holding onto Sensei’s hand. He assumes it's both.

…

It's not too long before Kakashi gets actually used to rollerblading, and actually quite good at it. So good, he was able to race Sensei to a small ice cream store, and only be a few seconds behind him. Though he _might_ have had to grab onto Sensei’s arm, because he still hasn't quite gotten down the stop yet. And also maybe just because he just wanted an excuse to grab Sensei’s arm.

Said sensei is staring at all of the options of ice cream, _completely oblivious_ to the young girl who's now getting annoyed at his indecision. “Um, can we get… two chocolate ice cream cones?” Sensei awkwardly asks her, placing the amount of money on the counter. She sighs, and takes the money, quickly getting their ice cream ready. Kakashi gives Minato-sensei a look. He thought the man _knew_ that Kakashi couldn't eat chocolate! Sensei gives him a confused look before realizing his mistake. “Oh! Uh… Can I get a vanilla too?” Sensei asks, putting down more money. She nods, and makes their ice cream.

They each quietly examine the area, patiently waiting for it to be made. When Kakashi looks up again, Sensei is already thanking the girl, and handing Kakashi a cone, before taking two chocolate ones.

Kakashi raises an eyebrow once they're away from the place. “You're eating both of those?” He asks.

“Uh…” The man squints at one of the cones with a little bit of timidity. Then he looks up, and spots a young child at a playground. “Nope!” He innocently replies, before _running towards the kid._

“Minato-sensei!” The ‘ _you're not supposed to run after people with ice cream!_ ’ part goes unsaid. Sensei gives the child the ice cream cone, grinning happily, and saying something to him that Kakashi can't quite hear. But the boy takes it, and says something back, that causes the man to smile even wider somehow.

When he returns, Kakashi raises a questioning eyebrow. Then he pulls down his mask to eat some of his ice cream. And instead of telling Kakashi what he expected to hear, Minato-sensei stifles a laugh. “How did you get ice cream on your _nose_?” He asks, and Kakashi blushes. He immediately wipes his face with his sleeve, and is dismayed to see a tiny bit of ice cream on it. Sensei chuckles at him, before going on to say what he was originally going to.

"The kid kind of reminded me of you. He was a lot younger, of course, but he has the same shade of hair," Sensei explained, before squinting his eyes at Kakashi. " _Maybe_ it was a little greyer... He also wore glasses. So he wasn't, like, your _mini double_ or anything." He said, thoughfully. Kakashi hummed in reply. He didn't necessarily know what a _mini double_ was, but he assumes it's not very important.

They continue eating their ice cream, peacefully rollerblading as the sun goes down, and Kakashi feels like he's in some kind of romance novel. Sensei’s eyes gleam with the sunlight shining on them, and Kakashi wishes he had more time to just… be in the other’s presence. He's the _only one_ who's ever made Kakashi feel this way.

Looking down a second too late, Kakashi trips over a small rock. He stumbles, but this time he doesn't fall. He turns to glare at his offender, and his eyes widen in amazement. The rock is beautiful. Kakashi crouches, and picks it up, keeping it in his hand.

“Whatcha got there?” Kakashi turned to see Sensei bent behind him, looking over his shoulder to see what he was holding. Kakashi held it up for him to see better, and hid his smile when he saw the man's face light up. “Oh, it looks so cool!” Kakashi, encouraged by Sensei’s grin, hands him the rock for him to further examine. He looks at it like it's some sort of artifact, holding it in the light to see the crystals glow, and turning it to see them glimmer and shine.

“You can have it.” Kakashi finds himself saying. Sensei blinks.

“Huh? Kakashi, but- no- you-” The man sighs. “Here.” Then, he makes an attempt to sneak it back in his hands, but Kakashi gets up, and skates a few feet away, slyly avoiding the trick, because he's used to his sensei's actions. This, of course, escalates into him trying to get Kakashi to take it with the excuse that Kakashi would take better care of it. Because apparently, having ninken somehow affects his ability to _keep a rock safe_. Or, something along the lines of that.

In the end, Kakashi never adhered, and officially made Minato-sensei the owner of the special looking rock. Kakashi did have to look away, though, when the man held his chest like he was going to start getting emotional. It was literally just a _rock_.

They soon reached their vehicle, and Sensei helped him get up the steps, having finished his ice cream. Even with his help, Kakashi stumbled on the last step. So he sat down, right by the entrance and they took off their rollerblades. Then, they went over to the table and sat down.

“So, what do you want to do tomorrow?” Minato-sensei asked him. Kakashi stared at him. Then he pulled out his bucket list, realizing that that was what he was talking about.

Squinting his eyes at his bucket list, Kakashi wonders how he's going to explain it to Sensei. “There's this place that I thought was cool. I don't know the name of it.” The blue eyed man just blinked at him, and Kakashi ate some more of his ice cream.

“Well, can you _describe_ it?” He asked.

“Oh. I guess. It's like a desert… but it has coral and stuff on it… and I heard it looks cool…” Kakashi mumbled the last part. Sensei was rubbing his chin, seemingly deep in thought. Kakashi could practically see a light bulb shine in his head when his eyes lit up.

“Oh! I think I know what you're talking about!” Sensei said. “Like, the place with the,” Sensei made a few excessive hand and arm movements that were most likely meant to describe whatever he was talking about. Kakashi blinked. “You know.” Kakashi blinked again, and nodded dumbly, pretending he understood.

“So…?” Kakashi didn't quite know whether that was a _yes that's a great idea let's do it_ or a _yeah that's cool but let's not do it._

“Of course we can go there! _I've_ never been there, personally, of course. But from what I hear, it's a beautiful place.” Minato-sensei rambled, and Kakashi just ' _hn'_ ed in reply, staring at the table.

But he met the man’s eyes again once a serious look clouded his face. “It's just that… It's very far… And I'm not sure if…” He sighed, and Kakashi waited for him to continue. “I'm not sure what we would do in case something went wrong.” He finished, and Kakashi began eating his ice cream, in order to delay his reply. He had a point… And Kakashi isn't really sure how to answer.

“Well…” Kakashi began, cautiously. “If it got to that point, you wouldn't just let me suffer, or anything... You're too stubborn. It'll be fine. You'd know what to do.” Kakashi tried reassuring him, but the man still looked skeptical.

“ _No_ , no you're wrong… I _wouldn't_ know what to do. Of course, I wouldn't want you to _suffer_ … But…” He trails off, and Kakashi fears he's thinking about their lost team. He was just about to say something, but pauses when he hears a shuddery breath come from the man’s lips, and decides it's not the right thing to say at the moment. His mind races as he gathers all of his genius to think of something- _anything_ \- to comfort the man.

The only experience he has with comforting someone is _Gai_. But Gai is dramatic in a way you would _expect_ him to act emotional like this, unlike _Sensei_. Sensei is strong, and capable, and the perfect ninja. Probably going to be the hokage someday. A man who would never show this level of vulnerability in front of someone who's just a mere _subordinate_ of his. _Maybe Kakashi means more than that to him, then…_

Kakashi pushes his selfish thoughts away, and throws the rest of his ice cream cone in the small trash can in the corner.

“If something does happen… I'll be fine. I'm pretty strong.” Kakashi tries to reassure him. He's not usually this wordy, but with things like this he just can't help it. And it's _Sensei_. After Kakashi starts talking to him, he won't be able to stop. Sensei just has that effect on people. Or maybe it's just him. “You've said it yourself, before. Just… Have faith in me?” Halfway through what he was saying, Kakashi thinks that maybe he should stop being so self-centered. Maybe Sensei was only upset because he was remembering Obito and Rin, and the tragic mission that led to their death. It probably had nothing to do with himself. _‘Not everything revolves around you, Kashi-kun,'_ he remembers the man telling him, when he was much younger and didn't have as much notion for respect, only knowing and caring about what he wanted, not worried in the slightest about other people's struggles.

He mentally snaps at himself _again_ for zoning out. He focuses on Minato-sensei. What to _do_ , _what to do?_

“Would a hug help, somewhat?” He awkwardly asks, standing as he spreads his arms. He doesn't know if his arms should be straight, or bent a little, or where he would put them. But as Sensei gets up, and wraps his arms around him, they seem to fit together perfectly, and it somehow feels natural. Just like last time. It's warm, and comfortable, even with Sensei still shaking a little. He pats his sensei’s back lightly. “It's alright…” Minato-sensei laughs at hearing that, and suddenly he's hugged even tighter, before the man lets him go.

“Look at you. Having to comfort your poor old sensei.”

“You're not even old…” Kakashi replies, flatly. But then he lets his expression melt into a sincere look. “I miss them, too…” The man's face twists in sadness, and Kakashi knows he got through to him.

“...You kind of get used to Obito's terrible excuses after a while. And how Rin would be the only one Obito would willfully listen to. And how she was so easy to get along to, and always knew _just_ what to tell people to cheer them up. I was s-supposed to be the one to protect you guys. To be the _strength_ not all of you had at the time... Yet here _you_ are, being stronger than me.” Another self-deprecating thing is said with a small smile equipped on his face.

“Not stronger,” Kakashi tells him. “Just as strong.” He carefully makes sure his voice doesn't sound cocky, or bratty, or anything else that wouldn't fit the situation. And the man looks at him, smile gone. He was looking at him before, but this time it's like he's _really_ seeing him. He can feel himself being read by the man, and Kakashi lets him. Kakashi lets him into his mind for a moment, and lets him get just a small _hint_ of what he feels. If it was _anyone else_ he would feel _very_ uncomfortable. But this is Sensei, so he only feels a bit vulnerable. A beat of silence passes, and the man smiles again, but more real this time.

“Yeah… You're right, Kakashi.” Kakashi can't help but smile himself, looking into the man's ocean blue eyes. And he feels very- something. Kakashi doesn't know what to call it. _Happy? Excited? Hopeful?_ He has felt all of those feelings before on their own, but in the moment they're _so overwhelming_ he has to avert his gaze. Kakashi just knows that he really, _really_ loves the man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dunno if you made the connection or not, but the kid that Minato gave his ice cream to was Kabuto, just wanted to let you know skwjejsmwj
> 
> But anyway, if you guys see any spelling/grammar mistakes, or things that doesn't make sense in general, please tell me! I'll try and fix them! :) Anyway thanks for reading <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically a lot of fluffy stuff 💖💖

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking even longer to update 😔 but anyway here it is, ty for waiting

“What are you making?” Minato asks, as Kakashi gestures for him to sit down at the table, completely ignoring his question. Minato sits, and a few seconds later Kakashi puts a few plates in front of him. His eyes go wide once he sees all of the food. “Uh- What's all this?” He asks again. Minato didn't understand. Did Kakashi really even _make_ all of this?

“Miso soup, steamed rice, and grilled fish, with nori and kobachi.” He answers, before getting himself a plate of everything. It all looked as if it was professionally put together, by some sort of chef. He's usually only accustomed to having a meal made like this, if he's having dinner with the Akimichis on a special occasion.

Minato was still staring at all of the delicious looking food in front of him. “Why did you… make so much? Don't we have… toast? Or pancakes? Or ra-”  
  
“We've had ramen for just about every meal of the day, this past week. And the other options are just as unhealthy.” Kakashi cuts him off before he can finish. Minato dumbly blinks.  
  
“Sorry,” He smiles, and rubs the back of his neck. “I just… Don't eat like this that often.” He mumbles, bringing his hands together. “Itadakimasu.”  
  
Kakashi sits down next to him. “Yeah. I can tell.” Minato gives him a puzzled look.  
  
“What does that mean?”  
  
The kid raises a silver eyebrow. “That I can tell you don't eat big breakfasts?”  
  
Minato’s eyebrows pulled close. “Is it… is it obvious?”  
  
“You were eating _pancakes_ when I went to your house. Do you _realize_ how _unhealthy_ -”  
  
“I'm sure you've eaten small breakfasts like that before!” Minato cuts him off. Kakashi raised both of his eyebrows and gave him a ‘ _wanna bet on that_ ’ look, which made Minato shut his mouth. For a second. He then sighed solemnly, and sunk back into his seat. “Ah. I've robbed you from your big breakfasts. I'm sorry.” He closed his eyes in an affected manner, before melodramatically clutching his chest.  
  
“Don't worry about it.” Kakashi mumbled sarcastically, and Minato looked up just in time to see him rolling his eyes. Minato grinned at familiar action.  
  
“Where'd you get all of this anyway?”  
  
“When we went to the store,” Kakashi softly answered, making a motion with his hand. Minato’s grin fell, and in place of it was a look of confusion. What…  
  
“What was that?” He asks, squinting his eyes.  
  
“Store.” Kakashi says, louder.  
  
Minato shakes his head. “No, I mean… the hand thingy. The-” Minato vaguely copies him. “-Whatever that was.” Kakashi’s eyebrow twitched.  
  
“I- don't know. You do it all the time,” is his explanation. Minato doesn't recall ever making unnecessary hand swaying motions like that. It's impossible for Kakashi to have gotten it from him.  
  
“I _do not_ -”  
  
“Yes, you do. Specifically, when you over-exaggerate things.” Kakashi clarifies.  
  
“I don't _over-exaggerate_ _things_ -” Minato cut himself off at Kakashi’s ‘ _I disagree with you_ ’ look on his face. Minato thinks for a second. “Well, in that case, you _under-exaggerate_ things.” Kakashi’s stare was practically searing him.  
  
“That's not a word.”  
  
“Yes. In fact, it's two words.”  
  
“Doesn't make sense.”  
  
“It's the opposite of over-exaggerate. Makes perfect sense to me.” Kakashi squinted into his eyes for a second, long enough for Minato to see himself reflected into them. Then, he lets out a tiny puff of air.  
  
“I suppose you've always had strange morals.” Kakashi says, obviously trying to annoy him, and Minato has a hunch that he secretly likes doing so. So Minato rolls his eyes, ignores him, and decides to bring something else up.

“So, you're saying you did it because I do it? Kakashi, that's so _cute!”_ He playfully gushed over his now-embarrassed student.

“ _No_. It is _not_.”

…

It's been about two weeks since they've left the village, and Minato thinks they've adjusted quite well. Or, at least, he has gotten Kakashi to stop pestering him about _training,_ of all things. And Kakashi says _Minato’s_ morals are strange.

They're sitting at the table in silence. The place they're headed is quite far, so now they're just doing things to pass the time. Kakashi is now reading a book, and Minato is thinking about things.

 _‘Would they miss us? I mean… would they miss me?’_ Kakashi had asked him, earlier in the day. His tone was blank when he asked, so Minato wasn't sure what exactly he wanted to hear. So he didn't really have an answer for Kakashi. He didn't even have an answer to who ‘they’ even was.

He could count the amount of people on one hand, who truly cared for Kakashi more than anyone else.

(One, his mother, who Kakashi had never even meant, since she died in childbirth. Two, his father, who commited suicide seven years ago. (Minato still doesn't know the extent of what Kakashi witnessed that day.)

Three, the Gai kid. They're eternal rivals. It's pretty self-explanatory.

And four, himself. He cares for Kakashi more than the boy could know.)

So… half of the people were deceased. And the other half had _other people_. Gai, for example, has his team. Minato, once he returns to Konoha, will technically have the entire village. But more specifically, he has Jiraiya, Kushina, and the Ino-Shika-Cho team to support him when he needs them.

Kakashi only has them. Himself, and Gai. That said, technically he only has Minato now. Since Minato had low-key kidnapped him, and taken him away from-

“What are you thinking about?” Kakashi’s voice interrupts his thoughts. Minato shakes his head.

“Nothing…” He tells the kid.

Suddenly, Minato has _just_ the idea for what they could do to pass the time. He may have let out a little less-than-manly sound, before pulling out a deck of cards and placing it on the table. Kakashi looks at it from over his book, interest piqued.

“We're going to play a card game. Do you remember it? We used to play it as a team, with Rin and Obito. It's called _Go Fish._ ” He tells him.

“Oh. Goldfish?” Kakashi asks, and Minato tries to hide his smile.

“No. Go Fish.” Minato corrects him, making a casting gesture, as if he was going fishing. Kakashi silently contemplates the new information.

“ _Oh_ … I always thought Obito just said it like that because he thought it sounded cooler.” Kakashi explains, and Minato snorts in amusement. So _that's_ why Kakashi always used to make fun of Obito whenever he said it. He recalls Obito always getting angry, and yelling. _‘How am I saying it weird?! I'm saying it fine! Tell him, Rin! I'm pronouncing everything perfectly!’_

He opens the box, and turns it upside-down so the cards fall out. Kakashi throws his book on the couch.

“I'll deal.” Minato says, as he gives them each seven cards, and puts the rest into the middle, spreading them out.

“You were supposed to shuffle.” Kakashi points out only after he's finished of course, and gives him the cards back. Minato sighs, and gathers them up into a stack again, and shuffles them. Kakashi watches the deck of cards as Minato fancily shuffles them, in the way Jiraiya had taught him. He raises an eyebrow at the way Kakashi subtly tracks the slight movement.

“Do you want to deal?” He offers, holding out his hand with the cards in it. Kakashi blinks once. Then shakes his head. Minato shrugs his confusion away, and gives each of them seven cards. Once he does that, he spreads the rest of the cards in the middle. When he pulls his hands away, he realizes that those were what Kakashi was looking at, not the cards. But Minato doesn't dwell on it. It's just a minor detail.

They each pick up their stack. He gives Kakashi a _'you go first'_ look and the boy glances at his cards.

“Do you have any fives?” Kakashi asks, after looking at them.

“Go fish.” Minato replies, as he places a stack of three jacks in front of him, on the table. He smirks at his luck. Kakashi draws a card from the pile, and doesn't say anything. “Do you have any threes?” Minato asks.

His student skims his cards, and exhales in a way that's _almost_ a sigh, but not quite. Kakashi hands him two threes. Minato beams at him, and places three cards in front of him, next to the other three.

“Do you have any tens?”

“Go fish.” Kakashi monotonously replies.

“Don't you mean- _goldfish,_ ” Minato jokes, before reaching over to grab a card from the drawing pile. He turns it over, and grins when he sees that it's a ten. “Got what I asked for! Do you have any kings?”

“Go fish.” Minato draws another card, and hums. It's not a king, but it's another ten. Minato makes another pile of three, with his tens.

Kakashi clears his throat. “Do you have any… uh, jokers?”

Damnit. Minato had forgotten to remove the jokers from the deck.

“We don't use the jokers. Just put it aside, and grab a new card.”

“I have two of them.” Kakashi tells him, and puts them both on the side of the table, away from them. Then, he draws two more cards to fill the empty space. And then he gets three of his fives, and puts them in a pile. “Do you have any queens?”

Frowning slightly, Minato handed over his one queen. Kakashi’s lips curled up at the corners, into a cute smile.

“Do you have any sixes?” He asks.

“Go fish.” And the boy’s smile is replaced with a face that is practically a _pout_ , when he looks at his new card.

…

Later, Kakashi ended up deciding that he, all of the sudden, didn't _want_ to play Go Fish anymore. (How coincidental that it was when Minato was _so close_ to winning, and they both knew it.)

So, they played a new game, called War.

“So you've played this before?” Minato asks, just to be sure.

Kakashi nods. “I've played it with Obito a few times before.” Minato hums, and continues to quickly deal out the entire deck to the both of them. Once it's evenly split, they shuffle their cards.

They place their cards face down, then flip them over. Kakashi takes both of them, since he has the card with the higher value.

They repeat the process, and this time Minato’s card is the better one. But his hand ended up colliding with Kakashi’s, painfully, and Minato may have even heard a crack.

“Ow! Kakashi…” Minato cradles his limp hand dramatically. Kakashi takes the two cards, taking advantage of his distraction. When he looks at Minato, he looks confused.

“What did you do?” He asks, once he notices Minato’s Intense Pain.

“They were mine!” He complains. Kakashi shrugs one of his shoulders. _Kakashi_ wasn't supposed to take his cards when _Minato_ had the card with the higher value!

“I got them first.”

“Mine was higher!”

“They were on a flat surface.”

“You weren't supposed to take it!”

“That's how you play.”

Minato stared at the kid. Kakashi was being serious. Minato laughed in disbelief, and his student gazed at him, confusion displayed clearly in his black eyes.

“How, uh… how did you and Obito play it?” Minato asked, grinning widely.

“We just flipped the cards over with one hand, then with our other one, we took both of the cards. And whoever got them both, well… got them both.” How bizarre. Minato supposes he shouldn't be as disbelieving as he is. But it was pretty funny.

“Kakashi, _what?_ ”

“I won almost every time.” That, however, catches his attention.

“Almost?”

“He cheated.” Minato is almost sure that there's no way to cheat, because their way of playing it was just _that chaotic_.

“How would that even work?” Kakashi opens his mouth, but then he pauses, and closes his mouth. Minato shakes his head. “Nevermind. So, do you want me to teach you?”

“Yes Sensei.” The addition of his title reminds Minato of something.

“You… uh…” He isn't sure how to put it. ‘ _You aren't my student anymore’_ would probably be a bit too harsh. “I'm not exactly your sensei anymore.” _Well that didn't seem much nicer._ There's a slight wilt in Kakashi’s posture that Minato only notices because he's known Kakashi for _years_ , and can read him like a book.

“You don't want me to call you… that, anymore?” The boy asks, and Minato represses his wince. What was he supposed to say now?

 _Did_ he want Kakashi to stop?

Well, sure… But Minato wasn't particularly _against_ being called Sensei. He still thinks of Kakashi as his student. And occasionally refers him as that in his mind. It's something he's gotten used to. Something that's familiar to them. Minato was the Sensei, and Kakashi was the student. But Kakashi wasn't exactly a ninja anymore. So what did that make them, then?

“Well, it's up to you.” He decided.

“Okay. Um, Minato-sen… Minato.”

It's a little weird, if Minato’s being honest. But it's not unwelcome, at all. The way Kakashi fumbles to get a sentence to go along with the beginning part of what he's saying is actually really cute.

“I… War… Yes.” Kakashi clears his throat, and there's a blush spread across his cheeks now. “Minato, teach me how to play War.”

“Alright.”

…

The winner ended up being Minato. The game lasted for a very long time, until he had placed down an ace and took the rest of Kakashi’s _entire deck_.

He was about to bring up another card game they could play, when Kakashi sighs.

“What's wrong?”

“Can we do something that's- a little more… exciting?” Kakashi asks. He sounds mostly bored, but there's a nervous undertone. Minato doesn't think it's just the losing that bothers him. He understands. (If _he_ had a set death date, he wouldn't really want to spend his free time playing old man card games.)

“Have you ever…” Minato tries to think of something. “Built a fort?”

Kakashi looked incredulous. “A _fort?_ Sensei, I-"

“No, like… a-a pillow, a pillow fort. You know?” Judging from Kakashi’s confused facial expression, he _didn't know_. Minato sighs, unsure of how to explain. “Well, I'll show you. We can make one, here.”

He stands up, stretching a bit, and carries the chair he was just sitting in, to the couch. Kakashi watches him, eyes narrowed as he attentively watches him.

“What does the chair do?”

“It provides stability. Could you bring the other three here?” Kakashi nods, once, and quickly obeys. He pushes the chairs over, and sets them down right next to the other one, in front of the couch. Minato hums, carefully planning the design.

With an idea in mind, he takes a few of the couch cushions off, and watches as Kakashi dives forward to catch his book before it hits the ground. Which is kind of ironic since he was the one who threw it halfway across the room.

Kakashi runs over to put the book on the table, and Minato takes the last cushion off. Then he makes a contemplative noise, and puts them all back. Kakashi blinks, then rolls his eyes. Minato then moves two of the chairs to the sides of the couch, but still in front. The process is repeated with the other two chairs on the opposite side. When he's done with this, he turns around to find Kakashi watching him.

“I could use some help here.” Minato tells him, and Kakashi walks over.

“What do I do?” He sounds clueless. Minato sighs.

“Get all of the blankets and sheets and pillows you can find, and bring them to me.”

“Hai.”

Some time later, Minato is organizing the cushions on the floor, and puts the blankets they do have, over the chairs.

And suddenly he hears a small thud. He gets up, and sees Kakashi face-planted into a large fluffy pile of blankets and pillows. Confused, Minato walks towards him. Then, he playfully holds his student down and chuckles when he sees Kakashi sink further into the pile when he tries to get up.

“Are you alright?” Minato asks him, amused at the sight. Kakashi glares at him.

“I'm- I'm being crushed-” He rolls his eyes at that. If anything was being crushed, it was the poor blankets. “I can't move.” How hypocritical of him to say _Minato_ was the one who over-exaggerates.

“Yes you can.” He says, getting up.

Kakashi struggles a bit more, and eventually rolls out of the pile, proving Minato right.

“I'll get you back for that.” Kakashi says, and Minato smiles nonetheless.

“Alright. Well, help me put all of this in the fort.” Minato helps him carry the blankets and stuff this time. Once they're in front of the fort, they set it down.

“How is this all supposed to fit?”

“We'll make room.” Kakashi gives him his usual skeptical face, but doesn't question him any further. “Put the blankets on the floor, here. And spread them out.” Kakashi does as Minato tells him, and Minato grabs the pillows.

After Kakashi is finished, he puts them in front of the couch, on top of the blankets, fluffing them up a little.

“Now, hand me the sheet.” Kakashi hands it to him. Minato throws it, trying to get it over the chairs, but it just… droops down. “Can you get the other side?” He asks, and Kakashi hums as he makes his way over there. Minato moves his arms up, then quickly brings them down to make the other side go up. The boy grabs the edge, and pulls it all the way over the chairs, and the back of the couch.

But in the middle, it's still drooping a bit. Minato frowns.

“I'll fix it.” Kakashi says, after seeing the look on his face. And Kakashi calmly gets out one of _Minato’s_ custom kunai with ninja wire tied to it. Where did he even get that? _When_ did he get that?

But he doesn't have much more time to dwell on it, because Kakashi somehow ties the middle part of the sheet using the wire. And then he throws the kunai at the ceiling, pulling the sheet upward. Minato gapes. Well. He _supposes_ that would work. He was going to just use tape, but… it's a little too late for that, now.

Stepping back, Minato takes a good look at the pillow fort. Kakashi moves as well, to let him look at it. He notices that the edge of the sheets could easily be pulled up, and that might get annoying. But it's not long before he comes up with a solution.

“Kakashi, do you have any more of your books?” The kid nods. “Great. Bring some of them to me.” Kakashi nodded again, and trotted away.

While he's away, Minato puts some more pillows inside, and another blanket as well. He comes back out, and Kakashi is holding a stack of books. Minato takes them from him, and puts them on each of the chairs, in order to hold the sheets down.

“Well, I think we're finished, then.”

“Really?”

“Yup…” Minato smiled at their masterpiece. It was a little lopsided because the angle Kakashi had thrown the kunai at made it impossible for it to land perfectly straight. But it was fine.

“What do we do now?” Kakashi suddenly asks.

“Well, are you tired?”

“Not really.”

“Oh.” Minato blinks, dumbly. “I suppose we can find something else to do.”

…

When Minato had said that, earlier, _this_ was not what he had in mind.

He was currently laying on his stomach, stuck under Kakashi’s _three hundred pound dog,_ preventing him from getting up.

“Kaka _s_ _hi_ …” Minato drags his name out. “Tell him to get off of me…”

“I told you I'd get you back.” Is Kakashi’s sassy reply. The boy is smirking at Minato, crouched in front of him. Minato struggles even harder to get up. But when he does so, one of Kakashi’s other dogs _bites him_ in the leg and Minato lets out a loud noise. Kakashi blinks twice. Then, Minato sees him get clearly annoyed. “ _Urushi!_ I told you not to do that!” The pain in his leg is relieved then, mostly.

“Kashi… I'm sorry for.. for letting the blankets eat you- Ow!” The dog bites him again. Kakashi sighs.

“You two, get off of him.” The weight on him was instantly released. Minato gets up, and dusts himself off.

“That wasn't fair.” Minato tells him, pouting. Kakashi shrugs, like _‘well what are you going to do about it now’_ , and Minato tries to think of something. “But-” He grins. “I know what _will_ be fair.”

Kakashi raises an eyebrow, looking him up and down, as if that would help him find out what he was thinking. “What?”

“A…” He pauses, for dramatic effect. “Dance contest!” He loudly declares, waving his hands.

Kakashi looked very unmoved. “Dance contest?”

“Yup.”

…

It was truly a wonder, why Minato expected this idea of his to _not_ fail in some way.

 _‘Obviously, Kakashi wasn't able to dance, so it would probably be pretty easy for Minato to win’,_ was kind of his thought process when he was “dancing”. And after thoroughly embarrassing himself, Minato had to watch Kakashi execute perfect moves and techniques that Minato didn't even know the names of. (But in reality? He shouldn't be too surprised. Kakashi had always been a bit extra with his scrolls, and would take any opportunity to add some kind of twirl into his technique.)

Kakashi had won. And, even worse, Minato had been mocked and laughed at by Kakashi’s dogs. And Kakashi laughed at him as well. Though, it wasn't in the same mocking manner, and he did tell the ninken to be nice to Minato.

“Pakkun is sorry.” Kakashi says. Minato looks over to where the dog is, and he's still laughing. Or, at least, making the dog-equivalent of laughing. All in all, he doesn't _look_ sorry. “Pakkun _will_ be sorry.” Kakashi then says, and the tiny dog sits upright and goes silent.

Minato notices one of Kakashi’s smaller dogs, Guruko, going into their pillow fort. Minato follows him.

And he sees that their fort has been invaded. Five of Kakashi’s dogs were cuddled up into a pile. Minato blinked. He backs out of the fort, and turns to Kakashi. He makes a hand gesture, and Kakashi narrows his eyes as he walks over.

Once he sees the dog pile, his reaction isn't really what Minato had expected. His eyes had lit up, and he ran to join his ninken. His three other dogs chased him inside, and one ran into Minato’s foot. The dog shakes its head, and runs to join the pile. He peaks his head inside to see what was going on.

It's so cute that Minato thinks he might start crying. This is all too much for his heart, he can't-

“Minato?” He looks over to see Kakashi’s cat-like eyes peering up at him. “There's more room. Come on.”

And Minato goes into the pillow fort again. He doesn't exactly know where the room _is_ , but Kakashi moves his arm up, which moves the dogs enough so that Minato can lay beside the pile. His hand lays on Minato’s arm. The dogs adjust themselves, and climb on top of Minato, forcibly making him join their pile. Somehow, Kakashi’s head ends up on his chest, and Minato looks at him. He looks so… tranquil. At peace. And calmer than usual. Which is nice, because even though Kakashi always acts calm, and collected, he's constantly worrying about something.

Really nice, Minato thinks, as Akino nuzzles further under his arm, and Kakashi’s hand stays resting on his wrist. This is where they're supposed to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me and my friend used to play the game, War, a different way that like completely disregards all the rules lmao, so that's where that idea came from
> 
> And also I just really wanted to have them make a pillow fort and have a cuddle pile
> 
> As usual, please tell me if I make any spelling/grammar mistakes so that I can fix them 💕


End file.
